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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25620703">Vent Lads Go Brrrr</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryans_Shadow/pseuds/Ryans_Shadow'>Ryans_Shadow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half-Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aliens, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, And So Does Freeman, Calhoun Likes Aliens, Implied Relationships, M/M, Pre-Canon, Secret Lab/Storage Room, Selectively Mute Gordon Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:42:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>623</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25620703</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryans_Shadow/pseuds/Ryans_Shadow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Something goes wrong during an experiment, Freeman and Calhoun are forced to hide away.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barney Calhoun/Gordon Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Vent Lads Go Brrrr</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was a loud noise far down the science wing, causing Freeman to jump, his eyes darting around trying to figure out what happened. He slowly backed up to the wall, right next to the uncovered vent he so commonly crawled through the hide. That's when it happened, the power was knocked out, leaving the young scientist to panic alone in the dark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barney slowly pushed the office door open, checking around using his flashlight. The beam landed on Freeman, who was sort of curled up in the corner with his face covered. Barney slowly made his way over to the other, giving him a small shake. "Hey, Doc, you okay? Somethin' the matter?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Freeman uncovered his face a bit, shakily signing to the other, </span>
  <em>
    <span>[Why is it so dark? What happened?]</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Then a voice came over the speaker, explaining that something </span>
  <em>
    <span>"went wrong"</span>
  </em>
  <span> with an experiment and a team would be sent in to </span>
  <em>
    <span>"collect"</span>
  </em>
  <span> those who needed to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>"taken away"</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The wording was vague, most of the words having double meanings that made the two pretty uncomfortable. A gunshot rang out from down the hall, causing Freeman to jump to his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Doc what're you-" Barney didn't get a chance to finish before Freeman tried to motion for him to get into the vent, as well as handing him a hand-drawn map of the ventilation system. He pointed to a room labeled "safety", pretty much telling Barney to just go there. "Ain't you comin' with, Doc?" Freeman nodded, stepping back so the other could enter the vent, which he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Freeman stood there for a moment, waiting for the other to get a bit further in. There were another few gunshots that rang out, slowly getting closer and closer. He couldn't wait much longer and practically scrambled to get into the vent himself, putting the cover back over it so no one would be suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He soon ended up right outside the room, peeking in to see Barney sitting on the ground in the dark, looking over the entire map while waiting for the other. Freeman hopped down from the vent, moving over to turn on the battery-powered lamp on the small desk in the room, said lamp lighting up a pretty large area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barney looked up at him, turning his flashlight off and standing up. "How'd you ever find thi- Whoa..." He looked at the drawings of aliens and such covering the walls, eyes sparkling slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Freeman smiled, glancing at the other and signing, </span>
  <em>
    <span>[This is where I spend a lot of my time. No one else knows about this place, besides Dr. Kleiner.]</span>
  </em>
  <span> He sat down at the desk and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a file without a label. The file was full of images and papers on the aliens shown on the walls. He set one of the papers down and began adding some new info to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barney was amazed at everything around him, never having seen this room before. He crouched down next to Freeman, watching what he was writing. He may not understand most of it, but it was all interesting nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other took notice, glancing up at him and setting his pen down. </span>
  <em>
    <span>[We're going to be here for a while, you should make yourself comfortable.]</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll be fine, Doc, don't worry about it." Barney smiles a bit at the other, then returns to reading the info on the page.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there they stayed for the next for hours, just waiting for the power to come back on, as well as for the announcement that they were allowed to leave. They ended up both falling asleep in one of the room's corners, almost cuddling while leaning against the wall.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This story is a little older than my other Half-Life related story, but I hope it's still good enough. It's something I had had on my mind for at least a week before even attempting to write it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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